I hope this email finds you well and that you’ve had a restful and rejuvenating holiday.

I’m writing to let you know that I’ve decided to move on from my role as the Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. The timing is perfect for me to leave a department that boasts many accomplishments. I couldn’t be more proud to have been involved with such an incredible team for the past three and a half years. But now I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family and to consulting on a few special projects which will give me more flexibility in my schedule. My last day in the office will be January 31st.

My time at SFE has been the most rewarding and challenging time of my professional career and I’m so proud of all that we’ve accomplished. From the policy and program achievements (80% waste diversion, 14.5% below 1990 levels of carbon emissions, the installation of over 180 electric vehicle charging stations, the successful implementation of the extended plastic bag ban to all retailers as well as the Existing Commercial Building Ordinance) to the organizational milestones (the move of our offices to a soon to be named LEED Platinum office space) to the leadership SFE has had a chance to provide through Urban Sustainability Directors Network & C40 on sustainability issues to the launch of new programs like SF Adapt and the Biodiversity initiative, there is much to celebrate.

I continue to be in awe of the stellar day-to-day work done by the staff at this department to help small businesses through the Energy Watch Program and the Green Business Program, to support the community through our outreach program and the Environment Now Green Jobs Program and to assist larger businesses on their sustainability goals through our partnership with the Business Council on Climate Change.

It was a hard decision to leave but I’m excited about the potential opportunities and possibilities that the future holds.

It has been a great honor to serve former Mayor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Ed Lee and the City and County of San Francisco. Thank you for the ongoing support of the Department of the Environment. Hope to see you on the 23rd!

Warmly, Melanie”

I’m sure Mel will land on her feet.

There’ll soon be a Department of the Environment open house of sorts – ask them about it if you care.

[UPDATE 2014: Upon further review, the Chevy Volt’s license plate has been grayed out. I had assumed that the Volt would be used as the previous vehicles, the Tahoes and Town Cars, had been used. But now I can see a possible security issue.]

Let’s see here, even if you keep this rig charged up and topped off with juice all the time, it’s going to burn fuel from its gas tank, right?

“The Mountain Mode option gathers an energy reserve in the lithium-ion battery so that the car has the full power of both the gasoline engine and the electric powertrain behind it for, say, navigating a series of San Francisco inclines.”

Or I don’t know, just drain every last drop of gas from the tank and fill it up with sawdust and then see how far you and your Volt make it, I don’t care.

Or, just get a Nissan Leaf – that probably would have been the better move, considering the stated parameters.

Oh well.

Anyway, those are the differences between the old and new Mayors so far – not much else has changed.

It’s a plug-in hybrid, just like those familiar Toyota Priuseses you see being driven (badly) all over town.

So, calling the Volt “electric” is muy prohibidado, ‘specially for the writers at the New Yawk Times.

A PG&E exec motoring through the Inner Richmond to the glamorous West Bay suburbs of the 415 – let’s hope he won’t get $35 million of our money* when he screws something up/kills people and then quits/gets fired.

Click to expand

(Garish decals removed, you’re welcome)

*”PG&E Shareholders to Pay Pension Benefits for Retiring CEO

SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Earlier today, PG&E Corporation’s (NYSE: PCG) Board of Directors voted to amend the pension benefits for retiring Chairman, CEO and President Peter Darbee to provide that all pension benefits will be funded by the Corporation’s shareholders.

“With Mr. Darbee’s decision to retire, the Board is fully committed to taking steps that demonstrate the company is moving in a new direction,” said Lee Cox, the Board’s Lead Director. “Renewing public faith in PG&E is critical to our future. Today’s decision is another opportunity to show customers, regulators and others that PG&E is listening closely and taking action to earn back their confidence.”

The company announced last week that Darbee will retire effective April 30, 2011. Effective May 1, Cox will serve as interim Chairman, CEO and President of PG&E Corporation until a long-term successor to Darbee is onboard.

PG&E Corporation is a Fortune 200 energy-based holding company, headquartered in San Francisco. It is the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, California’s largest investor-owned utility. PG&E serves more than 15 million Californians throughout a 70,000 square-mile service area in northern and central California. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.pgecorp.com.

I don’t know, sometimes when a police dog gets old, they’ll let a retiring police officer do an adoption deal, but that kind of thing’s not going to happen with assault weapons and retired cops in California anytime soon.

I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind living in a neighborhood full of retired cops with unnecessary firepower. It’d be just like Switzerland where every house has some sort of gun, practically. And nobody messes with Switzerland.

And wouldn’t this scene with Clint Eastwood be more effective if he had some sort of World-War I-era machine gun in his hand?